But first, this impression of Mad from a man who was immersed in the madness of Beatles era . . .

In July '64 attention was still on the hairstyle and so Mad deal with that in one of their famous folg-in covers, although this one was a rare diagonal fold

and here's what the fold revealed

This back cover "ad" was drawn by Frank Frazetta for the magazine's October '64 issue

By 1966 the Beatles had been unequivocally established in the pantheon of popular entertainers, so for this cover of the magazine's annual they took their place alongside the new generation on the right with Elvis and Dylan, with their Fifties counterparts on the left . . . all equally disgusted by Alfred E. Newman's album.

The Beatles alongside other British stars and icons of their day in the Swinging London period

Art by the great Don Martin

They were not the first nor would they be the last to use the Sgt Peppers cover for a parody. This and the one below obviously from much later than '67 when the album came out.

The greatest guru of his generation raised aloft by his acolytes, among them Mia Farrow and the Maharishi Mahesh Yoga himself . . .

From '76, what the Beatles would be looking like in '96 . . .

Not a Mad cover but an illustration by sometime Mad artist Sam Viviano on the release of the Sgt Peppers movie which starred the Bee Gees.

Again, with thanks to the archivist that is Doug Gilford . . . check out his terrific Mad site here.

I confess to being a hoarder. Nothing embarrassing like bottles, matchboxes, or beer cans. I collect art objects. Well, records actually.
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